Means for opening doors of locked enclosures from within



10, 0 M. F. DOHERTY ,525,019

MEANS FOR OPENING DOORS 0F LOCKED ENCLOSURES FROM WITHIN Filed March15,, 1948 Z 10 4+ fie I 34 V //Z1 T \22 fNVENTOR.

MAE/TDoHE/QTY A T TOR/V5 X Patented Oct. 10, 1950 MEANS FOR OPENINGDOORS OF LOCKED ENCLOSURES FROM WITHIN Mae F. Doherty, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application March 13, 1948, Serial No. 14,758

3 Claims. (Cl. 292254) This invention relates to means whereby it willbe possible for a, person, who by accidence or inadvertence has beenshut in or imprisoned in an enclosure, such as for instance an ice boxor refrigerator, as used by delivery wagons, or in butcher shops, etc.,to extricate himself by means of an appliance to be operated by saidperson from within said confinement.

With the above and other objects in view, this invention consists of thenovel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts,hereinafter fully described, claimed and.il1ustrated in the accompanyingdrawings forming part of this application, and in which similarcharacters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all views, andin which:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a door commonly used, for instance, inrefrigerators.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 2-2 in Figure1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged section taken on the line 3-3 in Figure 1; whileFigure 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 in Figure 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates adoor hinged at H to a frame [2. A spring latch [3 has a bolt l4 adaptedto engage a strike I5, the latter is enclosed in a housing It secured bybolts l! to the frame l2.

The latch I3 is secured by bolts l8 to the door l; said latch isprovided with an operating handle 19 pivoted at 20; said handle will,when pulled in an outward direction, or towards the operator, retractthe bolt M from engagement with the strike l5.

This operation can, however, only be performed by a person outside thedoor to an enclosure, so that, if any person is accidentally lockedinside the latter, such as in a freezing compartment, he is unable torelease or extricate himself from confinement within the enclosure.

This invention, however, provides means by which such release can beattained by the person so confined, as said means is operated fromwithin the enclosure.

The said means of release, thus referred to, comprises a guide member 2|having an opening 22 therein and a slotted or forked member 23 bent at aright angle to the guide member 2|. The forked member 23 is held againstthe strike l by the adjustment screw 24 ordinarily pro- 2 gdapte4d toengage a slanting surface 29 of the olt l The slide rod 25 is providedwith a pin 21, a handle 28, is pivoted upon the latter, said handle isadapted to actuate said rod 25, whereby the latter-will engage and pressupon the sloping surface 29 of the bolt I4 and thereby cause the releaseof the latter so that it will clear the strike l5, and thus permit thedoor ill to be opened from within.

It is obvious that changes may be made in the form, construction andarrangement and shape of the several parts, as shown, within the scopeof the appended claims, without departing from the spirit oftheinvention, and I do not, therefore, wish to limit myself to the exactconstruction shown and described herein.

What I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is:

1. In a device of the class described, a guide member having an openingtherein, a forked member bent at a right angle to the latter, a strikeand an adjustment screw securing said forkedmember against the strike, aslide rod mounted in the opening of a door frame, said slide rod havinga, slanting surface projecting through the opening in the guide member,a bolt pro- Q vided with a slanting surface, said slide rod being Numberadapted to actuate the slanting surface of the bolt, whereby tor releasethe latter to permit clearing of the strike.

2. In a device of the class described, a guide member having an openingtherein, a forked member bent at a right angle to the latter, a strikeand an adjustment screw securing said forked member against the strike,a slide rod mounted in the opening of a door frame, said slide rodhaving a bevelled surface projecting through the opening in the guidemember, a

bolt provided with a slanting surface, the bevelled surface of saidslide rod being adapted to engage the slanting'surface of the bolt,whereby to release the former, and permitting it to clear the strike,and means for operating said slide rod.

3. In a device, as claimed in claim 2, said means comprising anoperating handle, and a pin pivotally securing said handle to the boltslide rod, said handle being adapted to be positioned flat against thedoor frame.

MAERDOHERTY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,634,013 Boucek June 28, 1927 1,853,243Thor Apr. 12, 193

